Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai, popularly known as 'Lion of Punjab', was an outstanding personality who played a prominent role in India's struggle for independence. He was born on 28 January 1865 at Jagraon in Punjab. Munshi Radha Krishan, a great Scholar of Persian and Urdu, and Gulab Devi were his parents.

Lala Lajpat Rai launched his career as a lawyer, but later he entered active politics by joining Indian National Congress in 1888. In 1920, he presided over the first session of the All India Trade Union Congress. He also took part in the 8th International Labor Conference (1926), at Geneva. As a social reformer, Lalaji led many agitations against the British government, which caused to band his activities and exile him to Mandalay.

Lala Lajpat Rai was a close companion of Mahatma Gandhi. Prominent of his contributions are Arya Gazette (journal) and Servants of the People Society, an establishment which worked for the freedom movement as well as for social reform movement in the country. Lalaji also founded several educational institutions.

In 1928, he led movements to boycott the Simon Commission. The movement was broken by the police and Lalaji was seriously injured. As a result, he passed away on November 17, 1928.